Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and alternative smoking products
An incoming female passenger was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and fined $4,000 at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (September 9) for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes, failing to declare them to Customs officers, as well as importing alternative smoking products, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO) and the Import and Export Ordinance (IEO).
Customs officers intercepted a 29-year-old incoming Mainland female passenger at Hong Kong International Airport on September 7 and seized about 46 000 duty-not-paid cigarettes and 1 000 alternative smoking products, with an estimated market value of about $211,000 and a duty potential of about $153,000 from her personal baggage. The passenger was subsequently arrested.
Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences.
Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Under the IEO, any person who imports an alternative smoking product into Hong Kong commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account(crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
An incoming female passenger was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and fined $4,000 at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (September 9) for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes, failing to declare them to Customs officers, as well as importing alternative smoking products, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance and the Import and Export Ordinance. Photo shows the duty-not-paid cigarettes and alternative smoking products seized. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office leads Hong Kong professional services delegation to Guangzhou to promote Hong Kong's professional intellectual property services
To align with the National 15th Five-Year Plan Outline, which calls for the strengthening of intellectual property (IP) protection and utilisation, and support for Hong Kong in deepening its development as a regional IP trading centre, and to promote Hong Kong's professional IP services to enterprises in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Miss Pamela Lam, led a delegation of over 30 representatives from the Hong Kong professional services sector to Guangzhou today (September 9) to attend a Synergising with the GBA: Advancing IP Trade and Business Opportunities seminar (the seminar) organised by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office. The seminar attracted over 300 industry representatives from Hong Kong and various GBA Mainland cities.
The seminar aimed to promote Hong Kong's strengths as a regional IP trading centre to Mainland enterprises in the GBA, and to demonstrate how Hong Kong's professional IP services can assist Mainland enterprises in leveraging IP to expand overseas. It also sought to establish a co-operation platform between Hong Kong professional service providers and GBA enterprises.
Delivering her opening remarks, Miss Lam said that amid the current global economic restructuring, technological innovation has become the core engine of high-quality development. IP is not only about a legal safeguard, but also a core corporate asset and a strategic resource for market competitiveness, representing a substantial source of economic value. The GBA has close to 820 000 valid invention patents, accounting for nearly one-sixth of the national total, fully reflecting its innovation strength. The World Intellectual Property Organisation released yesterday (September 8) the Global Innovation Index 2026 ranking of the top 100 innovation clusters, in which the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster once again ranked first globally, reaffirming the GBA's leading position on the international innovation stage. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to capitalise on Hong Kong's strengths in areas such as legal, taxation and professional services, to seize the opportunities arising from national support for deepening the development of Hong Kong as a regional IP trading centre, strengthen full-spectrum IP protection, and facilitate the commercialisation and industrialisation of innovations.
The seminar was supported by the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department, relevant Mainland government authorities and business organisations, with the Hong Kong Productivity Council and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Promotion Centre as the implementing organisations. Three experts were invited to deliver keynote speeches on "Strategic Roadmap for End-to-end IP Management", "Intellectual Property Trading, Valuation, and Financing", and "Cross-Border Intellectual Property Dispute Resolution". Two panel discussions were also held, during which Assistant Director of Intellectual Property Mr Derek Lau together with five Hong Kong experts and representatives of Mainland enterprises, shared practical experience on how Mainland enterprises leveraged Hong Kong's professional services to expand overseas, as well as success stories of GBA enterprises in IP commercialisation.
Corporate representatives actively asked questions, creating a lively and interactive atmosphere that reflected the strong interest of GBA enterprises in leveraging IP to expand business opportunities, and their keen demand for Hong Kong's professional services. Hong Kong will continue to play the roles of "super connector" and "super value-adder", joining hands with GBA Mainland cities to promote the development of IP trading and jointly explore further co-operation.
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office leads Hong Kong professional services delegation to Guangzhou to promote Hong Kong's professional intellectual property services Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office leads Hong Kong professional services delegation to Guangzhou to promote Hong Kong's professional intellectual property services Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office leads Hong Kong professional services delegation to Guangzhou to promote Hong Kong's professional intellectual property services Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
